A new COVID-19 variant has made its way through the United Kingdom and has reached the United States. Experts expect cases of the new variant — which has been deemed highly transmissible — to hit the U.S. hard, especially during the winter months.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has outlined a pretty easy explanation for how COVID-19 can spread between people who are more than 6 feet away, and it might help you stay safe from the new variant hitting the U.S..
What’s going on?
The pandemic has continued to see surges and surges of cases across the country. The United States recently saw its deadliest day of the pandemic, setting a new record for deaths just weeks after setting a previous record.
The surges of COVID-19 come as people spend time indoors because of the winter. The virus can be transmitted in an indoor environment, even between people who aren’t near each other.
How it spreads
Since the early days of the pandemic, public health officials have advised Americans to socially distance themselves between each other, saying that 6 feet is a good amount of space to stay safe from someone who has COVID-19.
But the CDC said that there is evidence of COVID-19 spreading between people who are more than 6 feet away.
- “There is evidence that under certain conditions, people with COVID-19 seem to have infected others who were more than 6 feet away. These transmissions occurred within enclosed spaces that had inadequate ventilation. Sometimes the infected person was breathing heavily, for example while singing or exercising.”
- The CDC said that scientists believe “the amount of infectious smaller droplet and particles produced by the people with COVID-19 became concentrated enough to spread the virus to other people. The people who were infected were in the same space during the same time or shortly after the person with COVID-19 had left.”
However ...
The CDC was quick to point out that the available data shows COVID-19 is much more commonly spread between close contact than through airborne transmission.